A) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a music data providing apparatus and a music data reception apparatus, and more in detail, a music data providing apparatus that provides musical data via a network and music data reception apparatus that receives provided music data.
B) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is a music data providing system that connects a music data providing apparatus (server) storing a large number of music data to a music data reception apparatus (client). In this music data providing system, a server provides musical data to a client in accordance with a request for providing music data from the client.
As a format of the music data to be provided, a performance data event format such as MIDI format and a compressed or uncompressed digital audio data format are generally used. Music data with a musical performance data event format (hereinafter called just musical performance data) is generally smaller in data size than that of musical data with an audio data format (hereinafter called audio data) it is advantageous in a case of using a slow communication network.
However, in order to reproduce musical performance data on the client corresponding to the musical performance data event format, a musical tone generating device (MIDI-to-Audio converting unit) for generating audio data based on the musical performance data such as, for example, a software synthesizer, MIDI musical tone generator or the like is necessary. On the other hand, in order to reproduce audio data, the MIDI-to-Audio converting unit is not necessary and is more general.
As described in the above, since audio data is larger in data size than that of the musical performance data, it takes a time for data to be provided. Although it can be considered that the data is provided in the format of the musical performance data, MIDI-to-Audio converting unit is necessary for reproducing the musical performance data, and a client terminal that does not equip it cannot reproduce the musical performance data.
Also, performance and a reproducible musical performance data event format of the MIDI-to-Audio converting unit are different from each other, and therefore, the musical performance data may not be reproduced as intended. For example, in a case that a client terminal has only a low-performance MIDI-to-Audio converting unit, audio data generated by conversion may be unnatural.
As described in the above, in a music data providing service by the musical performance data event format, the reproduction of the musical performance data may lose the uniformity of sound quality and the like depending on the performance ability of the client terminal. In order to solve the problem, music data provide with audio data format is preferable.
However, music data with various kinds of formats (for example, various kinds of sound qualities, musical performance time, pitches and the like) for one music may be requested. In order to satisfy the request, it is necessary to prepare music data with various kinds of formats.